


the youth (is the hope of our future)

by kayteedancer



Series: November Challenge [21]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, so AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 10:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12792180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayteedancer/pseuds/kayteedancer
Summary: New York was everything she had wished it to be: massive, crowded, new, andexciting. And as soon as she had finished unpacking her boxes, she was off exploring the city and it’s boroughs.A smile played on her face as she tilted her head up towards the bright sunlight. Today Darcy was walking around Queens, looking from one side of the street to the other as she made mental notes of stores, parks, buildings, and restaurants she wouldhave tocome back and try.She was just about to walk past a traditional Italian deli when she heard a massive, meaty thud come from the alleyway next to her.





	the youth (is the hope of our future)

**Author's Note:**

> Back on time... barely XD   
> Hi everyone! I have Day 21 here for you. The prompt for today was: _“You’re fifteen? How?!”_  
>  I didn’t totally achieve it, to be honest, but the sentiment is totally the same! I just flipped it so it made sense if Darcy had met young Peter Parker pre-Homecoming.
> 
> Thank you so, so much to all of you that have read, left kudos, and commented!! I simply cannot thank you all enough <3
> 
> Come say hi over on my tumblr (sleepeatdancedream)! I would love to chat and maybe get some prompts?! ;)
> 
> I won’t drag this note out any longer. I hope you enjoy Day 21! I would love to hear what you think about it :D
> 
> Title is a quote by Jose Rizal.

There was something so... _amazing_ about living in a big city. There was never a lack for things to do, always shows to see, new boroughs to discover, museums to visit, food to try; it was heaven for someone that thrived in excitement and opportunity.

Darcy was definitely one of those people.

As such, when Jane had accepted the offer to work in Stark (Avengers) Tower, Darcy had followed her to the Big Apple without a second thought. After so long in the New Mexico dessert and the middle of nowhere Norway, Darcy’s skin crawled with the need to be amidst concrete and skyscrapers and to be anonymous in a crowd of people the way you can only be in a big city.

New York was everything she had wished it to be: massive, crowded, new, and _exciting_. And as soon as she had finished unpacking her boxes, she was off exploring the city and its boroughs.

A smile played on her face as she tilted her head up towards the bright sunlight. Today Darcy was walking around Queens, looking from one side of the street to the other as she made mental notes of stores, parks, buildings, and restaurants she would _have to_ come back and try.

She was just about to walk past a traditional Italian deli when she heard a massive, meaty thud come from the alleyway next to her.

Darcy stopped abruptly, peering into the shadowed alleyway for a moment before entering cautiously.

“Hello?” Darcy asked.

A high-pitched yelp sounded and then the sound of a body crashing into a trash bin rang out.

Concerned, Darcy walked further in, eyes scanning the shadows for the source of the pained muttering.

“Are you alright?” she asked again, eyes zeroing in on a slightly askew trash bin.

“Yeah!” a voice squeaked before clearing their throat. “Yeah,” the person repeated in a fake lower tone.

“Are you sure?” Darcy asked skeptically, leaning over the lip of the trash bin. “Because it seems to me like you could use some help.”

The figure was stuck in the middle of the trash bin amidst mountains of garbage, slick banana peels and old spaghetti making the handholds slick and difficult. The person itself was covered in a red and blue sweatsuit, black telescopic lenses poking out from a mask of the same colors. Drawn on the person’s chest was a dark black spider.

The person tilted their head to the side, one of the lenses zooming in on her face while the other grew and constructed crazily. “Some help would be great, actually,” the person sighed, extending a gloved hand toward her. Darcy grasped it and yanked, and the person was soon out of the trash bin and sprawled on the floor of the alleyway, breathing heavily.

“So...” Darcy drawled, “you must be the Spider guy most of Queens in talking about.”

“Spider-Man,” the man panted and Darcy shrugged.

“Spider-Man, then,” she acquiesced. “I’ve got to say, it’s really cool what you do for this place, for these people.”

The man’s mask snapped towards hers and Darcy watched as the one telescopic eye twitched and malfunctioned, almost looking like it was winking at her.

“Really?” the man squeaked, and Darcy mentally recategorized Spider-Man to a young man. “I mean,” he continued, trying to sound suave and cool, “I’m glad you think so, Miss. It’s my pleasure to help out the fine people of Queens.”

Darcy chuckled. “Nice Captain America impression, Spider-bro,” she snarked and the young man laughed as well.

Definitely on the younger side, Darcy thought.

“I try,” he snarked back, and Darcy grinned widely.

“Well, thank you for the assist,” Spider-Man stated as he began to get to his feet, “but I’ve got to -,”

He cut off with a yelp as the malfunctioning eye of his mask sparked uncontrollably, steam rising from it. Spider-Man nearly ripped the mask off his face, staring at the offending hardware with narrowed brown eyes.

Darcy’s mouth dropped open. _Holy crap_ , he was _way_ younger than she thought he was!

Spider-Man stiffened abruptly, suddenly aware of what he had done. Darcy watched his skin go pale as anxious eyes met hers.

Darcy knew she should probably say something reassuring like, ‘You’re secret’s safe with me,’ or, ‘I work with the Avengers, it’s all good!’

That is not what came out of her mouth.

“ _Holy shit_ , Dude, how old are you? Twelve?”

The anxiety left his eyes as his mouth turned in a petulant frown. “I’m fifteen,” he nearly whined and Darcy shook her head disbelievingly.

“No way, no. Just... how?!” Darcy sputtered.

Spider-Man twisted his hands around his ruined mask, fidgeting nervously under her gaze. “It’s, uh, kind of a long story?”

Darcy shook her head as she sighed heavily. “Well, I’d love to hear it sometime, but I think the first order of business is getting your mask fixed. I think I know just the guy to fix it too.”

Spider-Man clutched his mask closer to his chest, a suspicious glare darkening his features. “I can fix it myself,” he stated warily. “I built it; I can fix it.”

Darcy smiled and shook her head in disbelief. “Then I really think you need to meet one of my bosses.”

“Who’s your boss?” Spider-Man asked.

“Tony Stark,” Darcy stated simply. The teen’s eyes widened in poorly disguised hero worship.

“You work for Tony Stark?” he breathed, all distrust gone.

Darcy smiled. “Yep. And I think he would love to meet you, Spider-Man. So why don’t you follow me back to Avengers Tower and I’ll see if I can get him to help you with your mask, yeah?”

The teen nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll shadow you on the rooftops so I’m not seen! Wow, this is amazing; thank you!” he babbled and proceeded to _crawl up the side of the building_ to get to the roof.

Darcy shook her head incredulously as she set off back toward the Tower. If the kid was that young and insistent on doing the hero thing, the least she could do would be introducing him to the man who could make him a more protective suit.

“Fifteen,” she muttered, a shudder going down her spine


End file.
